INFECTION CONTROL WITHIN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The outbreak of atypical pneumonia, called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), has highlighted the importance of hygienic living environments. SARS has revealed the pressing need for research on possible solutions which take account of the numerous factors that may contribute to the spread of infection in multi-storey residential buildings, commercial and hospital buildings. The outbreak of SARS at Amoy Gardens in March 2003 has highlighted that a major cause of transmission of disease can result from the sewage system and the architectural design of residential buildings. At Amoy Garden, the building’s sewage system and design of the skywells meant that when leakage occurred in a quasi-confined space this provided a favourable virus transmission area. The consistent updraft of air in the skywell facilitated the travel of the virus to the upper floors of the building1. It is natural therefore that our research should initially focus on drainage and sewage systems. Hong Kong is considered as having a world class design standard for building sewage systems but new designs need to be considered. Just as important are management and maintenance issues. Even a brief visual inspection shows that leaks ar e readily apparent in sewage pipes, particularly in old buildings. Dry U tubes are a major channel to emit contaminated water vapor which may carry virus throughout the building resulting in cross-inflection of many residents. Given the number of existing high rise buildings in Hong Kong an